For the cleaning of fabric articles consumers have the choice of conventional laundry cleaning or dry cleaning.
Conventional laundry cleaning is carried out with relatively large amounts of water, typically in a washing machine at the consumer's home, or in a dedicated place such as a coin laundry. Although washing machines and laundry detergents have become quite sophisticated, the conventional laundry process still exposes the fabric articles to a risk of dye transfer and shrinkage. A significant portion of fabric articles used by consumers are not suitable for cleaning in a conventional laundry process. Even fabric articles that are considered “washing machine safe” frequently come out of the laundry process badly wrinkled and require ironing.
Dry cleaning processes rely on non-aqueous solvents for cleaning. By avoiding water these processes minimize the risk of shrinkage and wrinkling. The need for handling and recovering large amounts of solvents make dry cleaning processes unsuitable for use in the consumer's home. The need for dedicated dry cleaning operations makes this form of cleaning inconvenient and expensive for the consumer.
Accordingly there is an unmet need for a method for cleaning or treating fabric articles that is safe for a wide range of fabric articles, minimizes shrinkage and wrinkling, and can be adapted to a cost effective use in the consumer's home.